Sprocket-wheel.



No. 7|2 205". Patented Oct 28 I9 H. A. POPPENHUSEN. 02'

s'PnocKET WHEEL.

'Application led May 21, 1902.)

(No Model.)

.f A- 1 wxglympl 1 lill" MJ' Moruegi UNITED STATI-3s PATENT Ormes.

HERMAN A. PCPPENHUSEN, OF- CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SPROCKET-WHEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 712,205, dated October 28, 1902.

Application filed May 21,1902. Serial No. 108,303. (No model.)

.To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HEMAN A. POPPEN-, HUSEN, of Chicago, in the Vcounty of Cook and Stateof Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sprocket- Wheels; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this speciication. v

This invention relates to improvements in sprocket-wheels for driving or supporting chain belts associated with or forming parts of endless conveyers or the like oremployed for transmitting power.

The main or principal object of said invention is to provide a sprocket-wheel of such construction as to prevent material which may collect or accumulate on the links of the chain belt from being caught or confinedv between the transverse parts of said links and the teeth of the sprocket-wheel or the parts of the wheel between the bases of the teeth thereof, with the resultof forcing the chain-links outwardly away from the sprocket-wheel, and thereby bringing excessive strain upon. the chain and the drivingdevices therefor.

The invention is herein shown as applied to sprocket-wheels for supporting and driving chain furnace-gratos of that class embracing a traveling endless-belt grate by-v which the fuel is continuously fed forward or advanced through the furnace while combustion is taking place. In this use of the sprocket-wheel the construction is such as to prevent ne fuel or ashes which may drop on the driving link bars from being caught between the link bars and wheel, with the result of spreading the driving link bars outwardly away from the sprocket-wheel in the manner before stated, Ity is obvious, however, that my improved sprocket-wheel may be employed with equal advantage in connection with chain belts in general where liability of accumulation of extraneous and obstructive matter is likely to occur.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter set forth, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is afragmentary View of a traveling chain grate, showing one of the sprocket-wheels made in accordance with my invention, the shaft which supports it, and a portion of the chain belt. Fig. 2 is a section of the sprocket-wheel, showing in dotted lines the position of the wheel with respect to the driving-links-of a chain grate. Fig. Sis a partial side elevation'of a sprocketwheel, showing a chain grate having another form of driving-link.

As shown in said drawings, A designates one of the driving sprocket-wheels of a chain grate, of which there are a number and which when assembled inthe complete machine are mounted on transverse supports, as the shaft A,-which have bearing in the grate-frame, said wheel being affixed to the shaft by means of a spline a and set-screws ai a'extending through the hub a2 of the wheel and impinging on said spline.

The grate herein shown is of that kind illustrated and described in the prior United States Letters Patent to Green and Gent, No. 637,108, granted November 14, 1899. The movable part of said grate illustrated is formed of two kinds or sets of link bars B and C, the link bars B constitutingthe driving-links and the link bars C filling in between the driving-links and constituting the principal supporting-surface for the fuel, as shown in said prior patent. The several link bars are v pivotally joined or connected by means of -pivot bars or rods D in the same manner as shown in said prior patent. The said links are arranged side by side with their ends overlapping,so that each pivot-bar passes v through the overlapping ends of the translink bars B are provided with` hubs b', through which the pivot bars or rods extend, as indicated in Fig. 2, and said hubsA are made of such length as to meet opposite the flanged edges of the bars, the hubs of the overlapping IOO the chain grate.

bars together forming the bearing-surfaces on the driving-link bars,whicl1 enter between the teeth of the sprocket-wheels and are engaged with said teeth in a manner to actuate The pivot-rods are prevented from rotating by means of short links E, which are provided with angular openings to receive the angular outer ends of the pivot rods or bars and are fastened in place by means of Cotter-pins (Z in the manner shown in Fig. l.

I have found by experience that fine dust and ashes from the fuel resting on the upper lap of the chain grate sift downwardly between the links thereof and accumulate or lodge upon the upwardly-facing surfaces of the links in the lower lap of the chain and that the dust or ashes which collects on the hubs h of said lower link bars is liable to be confined or compressed between said hubs and the sprocket-wheels at the bases of the teeth A2 thereof as said link bars come into engagement with the lower parts of the sprocket-wheels, said dust or ashes acting to depress or force the driving link bars away from and out of proper bearing engagement with the sprocket-wheels. This action of the interposed layer of dust on the link bars not only places great stress or strain on said drivin g-links and the driving mechanism therefor, but also requires more power to actuate the chain grate. The sprocket-wheel made in accordance with my invention is designed to eliminate this objectionable feature in prior constructions and to dislodge from the driving link bars any dust or ashes which may collect therein, so that the hubs of said link bars may have proper bearing engagement with the sprocketwheels. For this purpose the peripheral parts of the sprocket-wheels are provided between each two sprocket-teeth A2 and inside the surfaces of said wheels which engage the hubs of the drive-links with inwardly-extending notches A2,which extend radially inwardly i5 past the surfaces of the sprocket-wheel which have bearing upon the drive-link hubs. As herein shown, said notches A3 are curved, and the radii of said notches are less than those of the curved bearingsurfaces of the o adjacent teeth and the marginal parts of the wheel between them and that of the hubs which come into contact with the said curved bearing-surfaces, the radii of the notches being shorter than those of the hubs, so that 5 the hubs are prevented from entering said notches A3. In addition to the provision of the said notches the metal of the lateral faces of the wheel in its parts adjacent to the notches is cut away, as indicated at A4, so as o to decrease the thickness of the marginal part of the wheel around said notches and slightly outside of the same or in the region of the teethbases, thereby making the edges or margins of said wheel and the bases of the teeth thinner at these parts than in the main parts of.the wheel and teeth.

The notches A3, formed in the manner described, afford spaces or room for fuel dust or ashes Vwhich may accumulate on the hubs of the link bars, into which spaces said dust is forced when the link-bar hubs pass into engagement with the lower parts of the sprocketwheels, thereby affording proper bearing engagement of the hubs of the link bars with the wheel. The dust forced into said notches in the manner described falls away from the wheels and chain to the space below the same. Should the accumulated layers of dust or ashes on said hubs be so great as to not be freed by the reception of a portion thereof by said notches, the thin edges or margins of the wheel at the bases of the teeth act to separate or cnt away the layers of dust or ashes and to displace or dis- .lodge the same from the hubs of the drive-A links. This construction prevents the dust or ashes which may lodge on the hubs of the drive-link bars from being compressed between said hubs and the sprocket-wheels, and therefore obviates the forcing or spreading of the chain outwardly from the wheel and obviates also the consequent strain on the chain and wheels and driving connections therefor. In some instances the notch A3 may be made sufficiently deep to obviate this objectionable feature without making the margins of the teeth and wheel thin at this point; but I prefer to employ the latter construction, as the same acts to eectually dislodge the dust and ashes from the chain-links and insures the proper bearin g engagement of the links with the driving-wheels. The length of the teeth of the sprocket-wheels is such that they terminate short of the iianges b of the drive-links, so as to prevent compression between said teeth and the link-anges of the dust and ashes which may accumulate on the inner faces of the llanges in the lower lap of the chain. The points of said sprocket-teeth are also shown as tapered to provide more room for such dust or ashes in case there should be a large accumulation thereof on said iianges.

In Fig. 3 I have shown my improvements as applied to a grate having another form of drive link bars, wherein each drive link bar IF is made of a single piece of metal and each is provided with two hubs ff, which engage the teeth A2 of the sprocket-wheels A, and are cnt away between said hubs to provide spaces j" for the entrance of the sprocketwheel teeth. Said link bars F are disposed in end-to-end relation, and the hubsf thereof are so located with respect to the ends of the I bars as to provide between the ends of adjacent bars spaces f2 for the teeth of the sprocket-wheels. In other respects the construction illustrated in Fig. 3 isthe same as that shown in Figs. l and 2, and the several portions of the sprocket-wheel bear like reference-letters in the drawings.

I claim as my inventionl. A sprocket-wheel provided in the marginal bearing-surfaces between its teeth, with relieving-notches.

IOO

2. A sprocket-Wheel provided between its teeth, inside the bearing-surfaces, With inwardly-directed notches, and being made thin in its parts adjacent to the margins of said notches.

3. The combination With a chain grate and a sprocket-Wheel for driving the same, said grate embracing driving chain-links provided with hubs adapted for driving engagement With the sprocket-Wheel' teeth, of means for dislodging dust, ashes, or the like clinging to said hubs, as the chain-links pass into driving engagement with the lower part of the sprocket-Wheel.

4. A traveling chain grate and a sprocket- Wheel for driving the same, said chain grate embodying driving chain-links provided with hubs adapted for engagement With the teeth of the sprocket-Wheel and saidsprocket-wheel being provided in the marginal bearing-sur- HERMAN A. POPPENHUSEN.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM L. HALL, GERTRUDE BRYCE. 

